UNFPA IN THE NEWS – MAY 8-14, 2004

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: U.N. Agency Donates $18 Million in Equipment to Hospitals

IRIN reported May 12 that the U.N. Population Fund has donated obstetrical equipment worth 18.2 million CFA to hospitals in Central African Republic, which were looted during a rebellion in October 2002 to March 2003, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported. UNFPA representative Basile Tabasch said the agency would oversee the distribution of the equipment to hospitals in the towns of Bossangoa, Bozoum, Mongoumba, Grimari and Bambari. The donation comprises mattresses, basins, scales, stethoscopes, speculums, iron plates, tape measures, sphygmomanometers (blood pressure cuffs), clinical thermometers and gloves.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Displaced People Are at High Risk of HIV Infection

IRIN reported May 11 that AIDS activists are angry that six months after Cote d'Ivoire received a $91 million grant to fight the disease, not a penny of the money has been spent on actual projects to fight the spread of the HIV virus or help those living with AIDS. The story also mentioned that an official from UNFPA in Cote d'Ivoire drew attention to the high risk of HIV infection faced by hundreds of thousands of people who had been displaced from their homes by the civil war. Read: IRIN

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: UNFPA Meets Defense Ministry's Appeal for Assistance to Improve Sanitation

Panafrican News Agency reported May 9 that the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) has donated medicines and equipment estimated at $10,000 to a military hospital here. Receiving the donation, Defense Vice Minister Gal Mohamed Bule said it was a prompt response on the part of UNFPA, to the ministry's appeal for assistance to improve sanitation among soldiers and their families. UNFPA country representative Sidiki Coulibaly said the donation was made to help the Congolese government fight against diseases.

GHANA: 10 Paralegals Inaugurated

The Ghanaian Chronicle reported May 11 that an event sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through UNFPA and African Youth Alliance, 10 paralegals at Dodowa in the Dangme West District were inaugurated. The story noted that the purpose of paralegal training is to produce community leaders, including youth and traditional leaders, health care providers and teachers to have basic knowledge of law, to help identify and address adolescent reproductive rights issues such as rape, defilement, incest, school drop out and teenage pregnancy. Read: Ghanaian Chronicle

GHANA: Equipment Handed Over

Ghana News Agency reported May 13 that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) presented 12 tractor ambulances and 25 Piaggio vehicles valued at 1.8 billion cedis to the Ministry of Health. It had earlier presented communication equipment valued at 663 million cedis to the ministry bringing the total value of items presented to over 2.2 billion cedis. Moses Mukasa, UNFPA country representative, said the presentation was made under the UNFPA and the government's fourth country program of assistance towards the provision of quality health care with special focus on the northern regions in the fight against poverty. Read: Ghana News Agency

KENYA: New UNFPA Representative

A May 12 story by The Nation (Kenya) noted that foreign affairs minister Kalonzo Musyoka met the new United Nations Population Fund representative, Kemal Mustafa, in his office in Nairobi. Read: The Nation

MALAYSIA: Goodwill Ambassador Balanced Family Time with Work

New Times Straits (Malaysia) reported May 9 that as Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund back in Sri Lanka, Rosy Senanayake, was always busy with community projects involving children and the betterment of women's welfare. But she never allowed it to compromise her role as a mother. "When the children were younger, I did mainly voluntary work, which meant flexible hours. And when they were older, I got them involved with work that I did. Not only did that mean spending time together, but it also taught the children that not everybody was as fortunate and that they should be grateful for what they have."

TURKEY: Preventing Early Marriages and Early Motherhood

Hurriyet ran a story 13 May on the ceremony for the 7th inter- university social advertising campaign competition, where Ankara University, Faculty of Communication received the award for the best idea for a social campaign on the theme “preventing early marriages and early motherhood”. The competition was a collaborative effort by the International Advertising Association(IAA) and UNFPA's country office in Turkey, who proposed the theme. 40 student agencies from 18 universities took part in the competition.
State Minister, General Directorate of the Status and Problems of Women, and the UNFPA Assistant Representative made speeches at the ceremony, and IAA’s and UNFPA’s certificates were presented to the winning campaign.

UNITED KINGDOM AND UNITED STATES: Abstinence Education and Pregnancy Rates for Teens

A May 11 column by George Monbiot that ran in The Guardian (United Kingdom) on a U.S. evangelical group funded under the Bush administration’s abstinence-only education program is recruiting British teenagers for its campaign against sex before marriage. Monbiot noted that the U.N. Population Fund's figures show that the U.S. is the only rich nation stuck in the middle of the third world block, with 53 births per 1,000 teenagers—a record worse than those of India, the Philippines and Rwanda. The UK comes next with 20. Monbiot also highlighted that Bush instructed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to stop gathering data. He also forced them to drop their project identifying the sex education programs that work, after they found that none of the successful ones were "abstinence only". Read: The Guardian

UNITED STATES: UNFPA to Speak at Global Health Council’s Annual Meeting

The Contra Costa Times (USA) mentioned in a May 10 editorial that the Global Health Council’s annual meeting will go on despite having the Bush administration pull its funding. The June event, in Washington this year, is titled and themed: "Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge." The $360,000 from the Health Department is a large chunk of the budget and, after 30 years, an expected part. As a nation we claim to be concerned about global health—until ultra-conservatives whine to the administration about issues slated for discussion including reproductive health, birth control and, yes, abortion. In addition, the editorial noted that nutrition, AIDS and SARS will be discussed as well, but attendees will hear from speakers from the United Nations Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation. The editorial criticized, “So these groups, including the Traditional Values Coalition, American Life League and Focus on the Family—with their static believes demand that the United States not participate—and the United States listens. That is appalling. Not because of what these groups believe and promote, but because the federal government has honored their heavy-handed goal to stop the exchange of ideas when those ideas are contrary to some of their backers.” Read: Contra Costa Times

UNITED STATES: Global Fund for Women Aids UNFPA

On CNNfn’s May 13 show, The Flipside, Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, explained, “The ‘Now or Never Fund’ is part of our $20 million investing-in- women campaign. We started it because women of the world really came to us and said this is not a time to hold back as the UNFPA was cut $34 million in funding, as USAID enforced a gag rule preventing Women's health clinics from having access to family planning if they in any way mentioned abortion. So women’s groups have come to us. And we felt this was a time to step up. And a significant investment of resources in women at this moment of time could really make a difference to help them challenge religious extremism, bring an end to war and conflict and to be able to preserve reproductive health and freedom.”

UNITED STATES: Mother’s Day Insists on Support for Safe Motherhood

In a May 9 editorial that ran in The Detroit Free Press (USA) coinciding with Mother’s Day and the release of Save the Children’s annual report on the State of the World’s Mothers, it noted, “Beyond general education, access to information, especially about reproductive health care, is severely limited.” The editorial urged: “The United States must release, and increase, the $34 billion that President George W. Bush has blocked for the U.N. Population Fund. It is also horribly unfair to continue denying U.S. aid to human services agencies that ever mention abortion, a ‘gag rule’ that has forced too many of them to close. This is grim information to share on Mother's Day, but moms must appreciate how important it is.” Read: Detroit Free Press

A May 8 editoria lby The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (USA) also noted, “Regrettably, America's family planning policies, which emphasize multiple approaches to family planning, have been hijacked by conservative activists who demand that none of the money be made available if any of it is used for abortions, and they back a gag order forbidding family planning clinics around the world from even mentioning abortion. These points are among reasons the Bush administration has yet to make good on a U.S. pledge of $34 million to the United Nations Population Fund. The editorial concluded: “Overlooked is the fact that family planning, including access to birth control, would make many abortions unnecessary. Save the Children points to studies showing that girls facing unplanned and unwanted pregnancies often resort to abortions under unsafe conditions. These young girls deserve access to effective family planning programs, which can free them of the grinding cycle of poverty that can accompany unwanted pregnancies. Family planning means allowing these girls, and all women, to space their pregnancies, thereby giving birth to fewer children and raising smaller, healthier families.” Read: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

UNITED STATES: 34 Million Friends of UNFPA Campaign

In an interview that ran in The Grist on May 10, Jane Roberts, co-founder of the 34 Million Friends of UNFPA was asked, “If you could have every Inter Activist reader do one thing, what would it be?” She responded: “That's easy too. Send your dollar and spread the word. This can only work if you all use your imagination and intelligence to get the word out. It is a marvelous message to send to the world from the American people….Thanks to outside support for administrative costs, the money does go directly to UNFPA's humanitarian programs. Let's make 34 Million Friends a national undertaking. It is definitely doable! We hope to hear from you!” Read: The Grist
In a May 13 issues of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Lois Abraham, co-founder of the 34 Million Friends of UNFPA reflected on two years since the campaign began and its closing in on the $2-million mark. Abraham pointed to the campaign's simplicity and the small amount it requested from donors for its success. "The initial e-mail asked for $1. Just about anyone can do $1," she said. "Since I believe that getting people to focus on the issue was as important as the amount of money they donated, I viewed the small ask as a benefit. Part of the benefit was that we would not be competing for money that people normally give to other causes."

VIETNAM: Preparation for 5-Year Development Plan

Vietnam News Service reported May 14 that the U.N. is currently preparing its next five year development plan with the Vietnam government. The mission will provide important information, particularly on key social, economic and development issues. The mission will meet with representatives of local schools, health centers and local people's councils. Agencies participating in the mission include the UN Development Program, U.N. Children's Fund, U.N. Population Fund, World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization. Read: Vietnam News Service

YEMEN: Workshop Addresses Population Issues

The Yemen Times reported May 13 that a four-day session, organized by the Public Information and Population Contact Program in cooperation with United Nations Fund and the General Secretariat of the National Population Council, aimed at recognizing and defining population issues and its negative effects on future economic, social, and cultural development programs. Read: Yemen Times

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